Red Land High School students create, perform anti-bullying skits for West Shore middle schools

New Cumberland Middle School sixth-graders had some
pointed questions at anti-bullying assembly held at the school on Dec. 5.

"Why do bullies bully?"

"If two friends are joking around, is it still
bullying?"

"What do you do if someone who had been mean to you
is being nice to you now?"

Red Land High School seniors Matt Brenneman, Madoc Smith and Max Bair answer sixth-graders questions about bullying at New Cumberland Middle School on Dec. 5.Phyllis Zimmerman / Special to the Patriot-News

Red Land High School seniors Matt Brenneman, Madoc
Smith and Max Bair were there with the answers.

Bullies bully because they feel badly about
themselves, the Red Land Student Council officers answered. If the joking
between friends becomes competitive, then yes, it is bullying. If a bully starts being nice to you, move on,
people can change.

The Red Land performers returned to New Cumberland Middle School
the next day to do a show for seventh- and eighth-graders. The group also
performed at Allen Middle School in October and are considering a future visit
to Crossroads Middle School, Red Land Principal Holly Sayre said.

The assembly opened with a series of anti-bullying
skits written and directed by Red Land ninth-grader Carissa Parson, who
performed with other Red Land students. Topics included "Stop Bowing Down to
Bullies," Harassment with Words," cyberbullying and more.

In the harassment skit, a portrayed bullying victim
removed her jacket to reveal hurtful words pinned to her shirt. The point? Mean
words often stick to a victim.

"I found that part particularly moving. It just blew
me away," Sayre noted.

New
Cumberland learning support teacher Lauren Campbell sees the anti-bullying shows
as an extension of the Friends Forever club she initiated this year at the
middle school. The club pairs special education students with regular education
"buddies" and is modeled after the existing Friends Forever club at Cedar Cliff
High School.

"We thought the Red Land program would be wonderful
for our students. It would have them continue the behaviors they are modeling
in Friends Forever," Campbell said.

Bullying affects nearly one in three U.S. students
in grades 6-10, according to facts compiled by Business Insider.com. Six out of
10 teens say they witness bullying in school once day and 64 percent of youths
who are bullied don't report it. Around 35 percent of U.S. youths say they've
been cyberbullied.

Bullied youngsters often endure extreme stress that
can lead to physical illness and a diminished ability to learn. In extreme
cases, others' cruelty can lead to suicide, such as with Rebecca Ann Sedwick.
The 12-year-old Florida resident was found dead in September after suffering
incessant bullying.

Red Land High School students Summer Wargo, Jessica Cox, Carissa Parson and Julia Free perform an anti-bullying skit at New Cumberland Middle School on Dec. 5.Phyllis Zimmerman / Special to the Patriot-News

"I've seen people bullied. I've experienced it
myself. I just felt strongly about the subject. I took a real story and wrote
about it. The cyberbullying skit was about Rebecca Ann Sedwick," explained
Parson, who added that she "would love" to become a writer.

New Cumberland students faced some big adjustments this
year with only limited turmoil, New Cumberland Principal Brian Kocsi noted. When
Lemoyne Middle School closed at the end of the 2012-13 school year, two-thirds
of its student body was transferred to New Cumberland at the beginning of this
year, New Cumberland's grade 6-8 roster increased from 398 to 574 students.

Fortunately, the increased student body has plenty
of room in the New Cumberland building and everyone seems to be getting along
well, Kocsi said.

"It's been an adjustment, but we're getting used to
it. Sometimes people call other people names, but then someone volunteers to
stop it," eighth-grader Honey Robinson, of Lemoyne said.

"This building is now a melding of students. We have
typical age levels with typical age-level behaviors. What we're trying to do now
is get our students to report it when it happens," Kocsi said.